Working at the Library
by Fern Walters
Summary: Fern Walters has accepted a job at Elwood City's library as head of the new YA section. This is her journal that she uses to wind down from hard days on the job.


Chapter 1

The following journal is something I wrote up to cleanse my thoughts after rough days on the jobs. Most of the time, my job as a librarian is a charming one. I help people retrieve information from reliable sources, and I help spark the flames of knowledge. Other days, however, are much more challenging, and I find myself wanting any number of things depending on the problems. More often than not, my good days and reliable patrons get me through, but I feel this journal will help as well.

I'll begin at the beginning, of course, when I first arrived at the library and began my work. I was put in charge of the entire teen literature section thanks to my degree and specialties. Miss Turner only told me about the job opening because she knew I would be the best possible person to apply. Not only had I been reading teen literature for most of my life, but I took up the subject in college and continued using Elwood City's public library for research purposes whenever I was home for the summer. So I had a reputation built with her, plus she knew I would be the most knowledgeable. She only had knowledge of certain titles, namely classics, but I was well-versed on newer titles, which was perfect considering the circumstances. A few benefactors had gotten together to help out local youth, which led to an expansion to the library in order to create a teen zone.

So this new zone became mine. I started out just as it opened, and while everything was neat and orderly and smelled new, I had my hands full those first days. Teens and young adults flooded the area, bombarding me with patrons. I knew from my training how things worked, and Miss Turner did all she could to help me, which often meant helping me at the special teen lit circulation desk because I was overwhelmed by patrons. Within the next few weeks, they hired on some assistants to help me throughout the day.

I thought this would be a favorable solution. I knew the authors and titles in the section already, plus I knew the library's computer system, but it was the influx of people I found to be overbearing. It made me exhausted and miserable to be there from nine in the morning to nine at night without any help beyond what few times she could come over. I needed this part-time help, no matter who came through the doors. As long as they were competent, I thought I could work with them.

I was more wrong than I had ever been. Shirli was the first girl. I was already taken aback by her name's strange spelling, then I got the chance to talk to her later in the morning after Miss Turner completed her basic training. Shirli had done well in her interview and learned quickly, but her way of speaking was very informal, almost as if she had no idea she was speaking to a superior. I quickly learned this was because Shirli was only a few years younger than me, three to be exact, and she'd even gone to high school with me. She thought of me more as a social equal than her boss, and it was fairly obvious that she was going to be hard to manage.

Her first patron was a teen who needed help with our circulation computer. I learned fairly quickly that the computer was often left on the wrong screen when patrons were done with their search, which would confuse the next patron if they didn't pay close enough attention. It was a simple and common mistake, one anyone could make, and it was very easy to fix.

Not to Shirli. I was trying to checkout another patron when she rushed up to me in a frenzy, "Come over and help me, Fern. Please, it'll only take a minute."

I was frank with her, "I'll be with you in a moment," but she persisted. I continued checking out the patron, who was annoyed by our interaction and rolled her eyes at Shirli, something I also wanted to do when I went over and saw what she needed.

"Look, it's on a messed up screen. I can't get it back," she lamented. I clicked a button with a left arrow on it, sending the computer back to the start of the search process. The patron thanked me and stepped in to do her search, but Shirli looked at me as if I were a wizard, "How did you do that?"

"It's very simple. I would expect you to know how to use a back button with the education you have, as well as your training. Didn't Miss Turner show you?" I asked her, knowing Miss Turner had. Shirli claimed she didn't, further sealing her fate in my mind. I did not want her as my assistant. She could work with anyone else in the library, but it would not be with me.

So two weeks into my job, I had to fire an assistant, a rather clueless one at that, and start over again with a new recruit. Now, I haven't mentioned the second assistant because he was fine. John, avid gamer and voracious reader, courteous and knowledgeable across all subject areas. If he weren't a college student, I would have asked for him to be made a full-time person, because Shirli was only the beginning of horrid assistants that were just unbearable, completely impossible to work with.

Jasmine was the next one, a sweet yet clueless girl who couldn't figure out anything. I noticed at first because Miss Turner was taking longer with her than expected at key areas of the library that we all had to know, specifically the printers. This was one of the easiest areas for me to learn due to my college experience, but Jasmine, who either hadn't been to school or had been living under a rock (perhaps both), could not figure this area out. She kept asking questions, at least, but as Miss Turner went through the steps, showing her the poster containing the steps as she went, it was clear that this information was not sticking.

Miss Turner was required to hand her off to me, so the next day I was to work with her alone. As I expected, she couldn't process the check-out process. Scanning a library card was a five minute long event filled with questions, confused stares, and complete ignorance. Scanning in the books was no easier for her, and she couldn't find the barcode on several of the titles.

I decided that maybe computers weren't her thing, so I showed her our returns cart. Books that were returned by patrons or found in other areas of the library would be placed there for shelving. This is a simple process, of course, and after two rows are full, a librarian must shelve the titles. The books are arranged by author, in alphabetical order, though there were genres, which were distinguished by stickers and set aside from the other books.

Jasmine found this system to be impossible. I asked her where to begin and she stared at me like a lost puppy. I knew, right then, that this could never work. Luckily a patron came up, so I left Jasmine alone. She proceeded to move to a circulation desk computer nearby to check her social media sites, a huge no-no, and Miss Turner and I fired her on the spot.

Jeremy and Kyle were next. Jeremy kept flirting with the teens coming through the area, despite being thirty-something years old, and he was asked to leave shortly after the start of his second hour. Kyle quit as soon as he arrived and saw Miss Turner waiting for him. Miss Turner told me later that she worked with Kyle before when he volunteered at the library for a summer, but things did not go well and now he was afraid of her. She had no opinion of him other than how ignorant he was, as well as flirtatious. Needless to say Miss Turner decided to go with a female next.

I fully expected the worst at this point. After so many failed attempts, I was four weeks into my job and doing okay without help. It was nice having John in the afternoons, but I was beginning to adjust to the morning crowds enough that I was tempted to tell Miss Turner to stop looking. I decided to wait because she said another one was coming, so I stuck it out.

Her name was foreign. In my mind I spelled it Princess because that was the closest thing I could think of. I saw her name before I met her, so I tried keeping an open mind while also being hesitant. I knew she couldn't be much worse than the others, but by now I had no choice but to be cautious. I watched her closely as Miss Turner showed her the circulation program, printing, and the basic layout of the whole library.

Then it was my turn. The girl asked me to call her Pippy, which I agreed to. She told me she wanted a more American name, and Miss Turner even agreed to put Pippy on her name badge. She was a nice girl, so this was a good first impression, but I was still guarded. Shirli had seemed nice too, as had the others, so I was just waiting for her flaws to show.

Her first day was slow, much slower than I expected, but her next was busy. Pippy jumped right in, and to my surprise, she actually handled herself like a true librarian. I almost couldn't believe it! She was a natural at her position, and I made sure to compliment her once we were alone at the desk.

"Oh, it's nothing really," she blushed. "I spent a few semesters working at my college library, and now I'm getting my masters so I can go back and run the place. This is good practice, and it's interesting working with teen literature. I'm afraid my only experiences with it before were awful, but after doing some research on your titles, I can say with confidence that the genre is improving."

It was a shock to find her to be so educated, though I wished she would appreciate the teen lit books a little more. At least she was keeping an open mind, so I decided to do the same for her.

After a few days, it was clear my search for a second assistant was over. Pippy came in every morning from ten to two, and John would come between three and seven each afternoon. It was a good system, and it gave me help during the busiest times. I appreciated it, but during those first weeks when things were going so wrong, I almost gave up hope. I'm glad I kept going, though I knew other things would soon come up that would test my patience.

A/N: So this is the first installment to my "Working at the Library" series. I was supposed to do this in collaboration with DarkAngelSnapeLover, but I want to keep this going on my own for now. I work in a library, so it's quite cathartic to write these things out, though I'm just a general librarian for a public library. I would love to be in charge of a specialized section like Fern is in this piece, but that simply isn't a possibility here.

Also, a disclaimer: These tales are completely fictional despite my experiences. I wish to remain fully anonymous, so I would never risk such a breach. While some situations may be close to what I've experienced, none will be full retellings. I'm sorry if you would prefer such tales. Perhaps you should look in other places for stories of that nature;)


End file.
